Supplement Judge Unbiased Supplement Reviews – Do they really work??
Omega-3 fats (found naturally in fish oils) are a type of polyunsaturated fat which have long been thought to be beneficial for general health improving everything from cognitive function to cardiovascular health. But a recent study conducted at the University of South Australia in Adelaide shows that omega 3 fatty acids could greatly aid with fat loss too.
Firstly an overview of fish oils and what they are; fish oils are healthy and good for you because they contain an essential fatty acid (EFA) known as Omega 3. Fatty acids are the basis of fats & oils, and are necessary for overall health and wellbeing. They are essential to the human body because they are a component of every living cell in the body and are necessary for rebuilding existing cells and the production of new cells. Essential fatty acids are made up of EPA (eicosapentaenoic acid) and DHA (docosahexaenoic acid) which are both long chain fatty acids that have been shown to provide a number of health benefits including reducing the risk of heart disease and improving brain function. But even more recently fish oils have actually been shown to help to help reduce body fat.
The study took a selection of overweight men and women and divided them into groups, one group was given a placebo and one group was given fish oils. They each performed 45 minutes of exercise, 3 times a week at 75% of their maximal heart rate. Results demonstrated after the 12 week period that supplementing the diet with fish oils, combined with exercise, significantly reduced body fat when compared to the placebo group (see figure 1)
According to a study conducted at the Institute of Physiology in Prague, it’s believed it does this by ‘upregulating’ mitochondrial machinery and increasing fat oxidisation within the fat cells (Flachs.P, 2005.) Put simply, it’s theorised that fish oils help the mitochondria (these are like the ‘energy factory of the cells) convert energy into forms that are usable by the cell, meaning fat is oxidised (burnt) far easier and more efficiently.
In conclusion, supplementing your diet with fish oils and performing exercise on a regular basis could increase the amount of fat you are able to burn. And whilst you can get omega 3’s in your diet from mackerel, salmon, trout, herring, sardines and pilchards the EPA and DHA content is higher in a pure omega 3 supplement..
